The Stranger in our Bed – Movie Review
Director: Giles Alderson
Writer: Samantha Lee Howe (Screenplay)
Cast
- Emily Berrington (The Last Showing)
- Ben Lloyd-Hughes (Me Before You)
- Samantha Bond (GoldenEye)
- Nina Wadia (Bend it Like Beckham)
- Joseph Marcell (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
Plot: A happily married woman leaves her husband for a lover who mysteriously disappears
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Stranger in our Bed starts as Charlotte (Berrington) announces to her husband Tom (Lloyd-Hughes) that she wants to leave him. Tom furious at the decision, offers to improve as a husband, but Charlotte goes ahead to meet her lover.
As Charlotte goes to meet her lover, he never shows up, with her memory starts to be questioned. Tom arrives to pick Charlotte up, which leads to the two trying to patch things up. However, Charlotte isn’t convinced the disappearance is everything it seems.
Verdict on The Stranger in our Bed
Characters
Charlotte is a young woman looking to leave her husband for her new lover. Only he doesn’t turn up, leading her to need to return to her husband, as they try to put their lives back together. Charlotte starts questioning herself after learning that her lover vanished, setting her on an investigation into her husband and family.
Tom is Charlotte’s husband, a successful CEO from a wealthy family. He believes he has given Charlotte everything she wanted. He looks to fix his marriage by offering the support needed, but his involvement in the disappearance might be more than he lets on.
Isadora is Tom’s mother that has protected Tom for years and wants the best for Charlotte. She could also be behind the disappearance of Charlotte’s lover, in an attempt to save the marriage of her son.
Becki is the lover’s sister that has been searching for him. She teams up with Charlotte to try and figure out what happened to her brother.
Performances
Emily Berrington in the leading role is great, she shows a woman that must keep up appearances while trying to escape a life she isn’t happy in. the mix of emotions her character goes through is brilliant to show her range through the distressing time.
Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Samantha Bond are great at bringing us characters that don’t show their complete colours to Charlotte. The mysteries they hold back about their characters play into the uncomfortable position Charlotte finds herself in.
The supporting cast gets to let the leads shine through their difficult moments in story.
Story
The story follows a young woman that sees her life turned upside when she looks to leave her husband for her lover. It sees how she must look for answers about what happened, as it starts to show not everything is what it seems.
The story is mostly confusing because it hints very heavily that Charlotte is unstable in the early sequences of the movie. This seems to get dropped quickly for a run-of-the-mill thriller about figuring out which member of the family is trying to stop her. It is a story that wants to bring us plenty of twists and turns along the way, as the truth is slowly brought out.
Themes
The Stranger in our Bed is a mystery thriller that sees a wife struggle to adapt to the changes in life when her lover goes missing. The scenes are created to show how on edge Charlotte is living her life, not sure who is after her, watching over her shoulders. The locations used show us the difference in class between Charlotte and Tom’s family.
Where to Watch: Signature Entertainment presents The Stranger in our Bed on Digital Platforms 5th September
Final Thoughts – The Stranger in our Bed is a tense thriller that keeps you guessing.
